• A British Airways plane returned to Edinburgh after circling six times before landing.
• It was then stuck on the runway for over an hour, as the airport suspended operations.
• A KLM flight returned to Amsterdam, and 14 other flights were diverted, too.

A British Airways plane had to circle six times before landing as it turned back to Edinburgh.

Monday's Flight 1443 took off from the Scottish capital shortly after 11 a.m. and was supposed to land in London about an hour later.

However, just five minutes later, it squawked 7700 — a transponder code indicating a problem with the plane, according to Flightradar24.

A British Airways spokesperson said that the pilots "identified a technical issue after take-off."

It appeared that the plane's landing gear was stuck in the down position, per the flight-tracking site AirNav Radar's "Flight Emergency" X account.

The Airbus A320 turned north and entered a holding pattern near the city of Stirling.

It circled there six times before turning back toward Edinburgh, flying over the Firth of Forth before landing.

Flight 1443 landed safely at 12:16 p.m., an hour after it had first departed.

Edinburgh Airport had to suspend operations until nearly 2 p.m. as it dealt with the plane on the runway.

15 other flights bound for Edinburgh had to divert on Monday, mostly to nearby Glasgow, according to data from Flightradar24.

However, a Qatar Airways flight instead landed at Manchester — nearly 200 miles away. And a KLM flight turned around near the coast of eastern England before returning to Amsterdam.

Edinburgh Airport said passengers were bused to the terminal and the plane was inspected before being towed off the runway.

"Safety is always paramount and we would like to thank passengers for their patience and understanding," it added.

"We've apologised to our customers for the disruption to their journey and our teams are working hard to get them on their way as soon as possible," the British Airways spokesperson said.

The incident came just four days after Edinburgh Airport last had to suspend operations.

Last Friday, it said its air traffic control operator had an IT issue, meaning no flights could operate.

That included a Delta Air Lines flight inbound from New York, which circled south of the city before diverting to Dublin.

• My dad retired last year from the insurance job he'd been working for 30 years. At 65, he was ready.
• However, he wasn't ready to be done working, and he now has two part-time jobs.
• They keep him active and social, and he loves having the extra money.

Last year, my dad retired from his insurance job of 30 years. At 65, he said he'd done the desk job long enough and was ready to get out and about.

It was a combination of all the sitting and the feelings he had about selling insurance that caused him to leave — when he began, it felt like he was helping people. Then at some point, he started to feel like he was working for The Man. He worked until he was old enough to retire, then got two part-time jobs doing busy work around town.

"Toward the end, I wasn't sure if I would miss it or not," he told me. "But it turns out I didn't miss it at all."

His jobs allow him to be social and active while earning extra money

A week after retirement, he'd landed a part-time job in customer service. He works at a local meat market where they process, package, and sell fresh cuts of meat. He packages everything from bacon to snack sticks to bones for broth.

"Maybe people give them to their dogs, I don't know what they do with the bones, I just bag them," he said, laughing.

Retired now for just over a year, he said he enjoys the ability to be social and on his feet, while still earning side money. He now receives both Social Security and money from an annuity from his insurance job, while my mom has yet to hit the age threshold to receive money from Social Security or retirement accounts.

His hourly wage, he said, helps pay the bills and allows for "extras" like spoiling his grandkids, taking everyone out to eat, or attending events out of town, whether it's just him and my mom, or the entire crew.

He can set his own schedule

Each week, he writes out his preferred schedule and sends a picture to his boss via text. It varies between 20-25 hours, he said.

Apparently, the company is busy enough that they will take what they can get from him. There are 32 other employees, though he said he only works with a few at the same time.

He also works at a local eating club where he pours drinks and opens beers for patrons, most of whom are his friends.

"I know everybody's name who walks through the door," he said. "There are only a few that were new, and now I've gotten to know them, too."

He said the combination works because he can set his own schedule.

"That's the beauty of it — I come home, and I'm chillaxing for two and a half hours," he said. "I sit in my chair and just chill, so that helps a lot. I'm pretty blessed making it work for my schedule."

His jobs keep him active and he doesn't see stopping anytime soon

A former marathon runner, he's health-conscious and prefers standing over sitting. "I'm up on my feet vs. sitting all day. Sometimes I stand in one place and work, but it's good for me to be upright," he said.

He prefers to walk to keep his back loose; standing still for too long causes it to become tight and painful, he said. He also wears thick foam shoes. "They're like two inches on the sole; it didn't take me long to figure out I would need something like that," he said.

He also enjoys getting to see different people.

"For as long as I enjoy it and I'm physically able to work, I'll keep doing it," he said. "There'll come a time when I won't be physically able to do it, but right now is not that time. It keeps me busy, and I like seeing everyone; it's fun."

• OpenAI reported that AI boosts workplace productivity and work quality across industries.
• IT and marketing workers saw the greatest benefits, including faster troubleshooting and execution.
• Skepticism remains as other studies question AI's measurable impact and warn of "workslop."

OpenAI says it's boosting productivity.

On Monday, OpenAI published its first report on the state of enterprise AI, and based on the 9,000 surveyed workers across 100 companies, three-quarters said that AI has improved the speed and quality of their work.

Here are the survey results:

• 87% of IT workers said they can solve IT issues faster,
• 85% of marketing and product say they can execute campaigns faster,
• 75% of HR professionals said employee engagement improved,
• 73% of engineers report faster code delivery,

• Coding-related messages increased 36% for workers outside technical functions,
• 75% of users report being able to complete new tasks they previously could not perform.

The report comes a week after Anthropic published its own findings, which said its Claude assistant cut task-completion time by 80%, based on 100,000 user conversations.

Anthropic's findings don't appear to have been peer-reviewed, nor is OpenAI's survey. OpenAI and Anthropic did not immediately respond to requests for comments on whether their reports are peer-reviewed.

Despite the reports, skepticism still swirls about whether the technology is actually making workers more productive. An August study by MIT found that most companies saw no measurable return on their investments in generative AI.

A paper published by Stanford and Harvard University in September said that many professionals are churning out "workslop," referring to AI-generated content that looks polished but fails to move tasks forward. Fears that the billions of dollars companies have poured into AI will not yield an equal return have been driving investor concern about an AI bubble.

• I'm a health journalist who's been eating overnight oats multiple times a week for years.
• The recipe has helped me maintain my 35-pound weight loss and is packed with fiber and protein.
• Recently, I've made a few tweaks to enhance the meal's gut health benefits.

As a true breakfast lover, I often go to bed excited to wake up and eat my first meal of the day. To me, sleep is a fast track to breakfast.

Because the first bite of food is such a source of joy, I like to mix up the menu — there are far too many delicious options to limit myself.

That said, one breakfast remains a year-round staple: my overnight oats.

My overnight oats are the perfect way to start the day, providing protein, slow-release energy, carbs, healthy fats, and tons of micronutrients.

This recipe helped me lose 35 pounds seven years ago and has played an instrumental role in helping me continue to reach my health goals.

I still eat it about three times a week and never get bored because I can make so many different flavor combinations.

Plus, knowing my breakfast is already made when I get into bed adds to the excitement.

Here's how I make overnight oats

There are several ways to make overnight oats, but I've perfected my version over the years. For one portion, my classic overnight oats consist of:

• 40 grams of oats
• 5 to 10 grams of chia seeds
• ½ grated apple or ½ mashed banana
• ½ tablespoon of dried fruit (golden raisins or chopped dates)
• 75 grams of Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon of kefir
• Dash of cinnamon
• ½ scoop of protein powder
• Milk (almond or dairy)
• Toppings, such as berries and peanut butter

Simply mix everything except the toppings together in a container or bowl, cover, chill in the fridge overnight, and remove it the next morning.

Add some berries and nut butter to dress up the oats. If I'm using frozen berries, I add them the night before so they can defrost overnight as well.

Take the above measurements as recommendations and experiment until you find your preferred consistency — just keep in mind that the oats will thicken overnight.

If you want same-day oats, a few hours in the fridge will do the trick. This recipe also keeps for a few days.

Tailor the recipe based on your goals — and feel free to switch it up

As tasty as my overnight oats are, they also provide tons of health benefits.

I had registered nutritionist Rhiannon Lambert review my recipe, and she said that it creates a "well-balanced, nutrient-dense breakfast."

"The recipe offers slow-release energy from the oats, a good amount of protein from Greek yogurt, plus probiotics from the kefir," Lambert said.

"It's also rich in fiber, likely providing around 10 to 14 grams per serving, which supports digestion, gut health, and even broader aspects of our health, like immunity and mood."

My overnight oats contain probiotic foods (kefir provides beneficial live cultures) and prebiotic fibers from the oats, chia seeds, and fruit, which help nourish gut bacteria.

Lambert also offered a few pointers on how to enhance this recipe based on your specific goals:

• Rotate different berries in each batch to increase the variety of polyphenols, a type of nutrient that protects plants from pathogens and is linked to lower levels of inflammation
• Alternate different types of seeds to support microbial diversity, improving overall gut health
• Opt for 70% to 75% cacao in cocoa powder for antioxidant benefits
• If you're using plant milk, opt for one fortified with calcium, vitamin B12, and iodine
• Ensure you're using Greek yogurt rather than "Greek-style yogurt," which often contains added thickeners and less protein
• Use peanut butter made from 100% peanuts

Tips aside, feel free to vary the flavor of the oats to keep things interesting. Depending on the season and available produce, I add fresh peaches, dried apricots, cherries, almond butter, or pumpkin purée.

Some of my favorite combinations are:

• Spiced apple with grated apple, cinnamon, ginger, and golden raisins
• Chocolate banana with mashed banana, chocolate protein, and cocoa powder
• Carrot cake with grated carrots, pecan nuts, cream cheese, cinnamon, and raisins

Regardless of which version I make, starting my day with a combination of whole grains, fruit, seeds, and fermented foods keeps me energized until lunch.

• PwC's global head of AI, Joe Atkinson, appeared on CNBC's Squawk Box Asia on Tuesday.
• The Big Four executive said that the pace of AI change is "overwhelming to everybody."
• But companies that move fast on AI can see three times the return per employee, Atkinson said.

Worried about how AI is affecting your job? You're not alone.

Everyone from the board to management to employees has concerns about the new technology, said Joe Atkinson, PwC's global head of AI, in an appearance on CNBC's Squawk Box Asia on Tuesday.

"It's a complex time in the world of AI implementation," said Atkinson. The pace of AI change is "overwhelming to everybody" and there's a "mismatch" between how quickly organizational change can keep up with it, he said.

Global companies routinely look to PwC, one of the industry's leading consulting and accounting firms, for answers to their most consequential business questions. With AI rapidly transforming how businesses operate, guidance on reorganizing for an AI-first future is becoming one of the most sought-after offerings.

Atkinson said that the next phase of implementing AI inside companies is scaling the technology's capabilities, and companies that move quickly will see the most reward.

"We've talked for the last year about proofs of concept and experimentation, and frankly, those days are over. We now have to scale the impact of AI in organizations," Atkinson said.

"The good news for employees is if we scale the impact of AI for organizations, I truly believe we create and unlock growth," he added.

According to PwC's data, organizations that adopt AI more quickly have seen three times the revenue per employee compared to those that proceed more slowly.

"That opportunity means that it's not only a big upside for organisations. It is a big upside for employees who lean in and use these tools to help create greater productivity, outputs, and creativity," Atkinson said.

PwC and other leading consulting firms have embraced AI, pitching themselves as client zero for the solutions they offer to clients and implementing AI solutions across all operations.

New hires at PwC will be doing the roles that managers are doing within three years because of AI, Jenn Kosar, PwC's AI assurance leader, told Business Insider in August.

The technology is also affecting the firm's hiring plans. In August, Business Insider obtained part of an internal presentation showing that PwC US planned to cut graduate hiring by a third over the next three years, in part due to "the impact of AI."

Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at pthompson@businessinsider.com or Signal at Polly_Thompson.89. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• Tiger Global, the $50 billion New York-based investor, is raising its latest private fund.
• The manager is planning to raise close to $2 billion, a person close to the firm said.
• The firm is focused on making fewer bets on companies it deeply believes in, Tiger Global told potential investors.

Tiger Global's latest private investment fund will raise substantially less money than its predecessors from 2021 and 2022, but the $50 billion asset manager isn't worried.

The firm is expected to raise close to $2 billion for PIP 17, a person familiar with the manager told Business Insider.

That's a fraction of what PIP 14 and PIP 15 raised and aligns more closely to PIP 16, which closed in early 2024 with $2.2 billion in assets after aiming initially for $6 billion.

While smaller fundraises typically coincide with a decline in investor interest, Tiger Global is confident that the size of the new fund will be a benefit for those who do decide to invest.

"Over our history, we have also found that smaller, more concentrated funds have been correlated with our strongest returns," the firm wrote in a letter to prospective investors that was seen by Business Insider.

Tiger Global declined to comment.

The first 10 private funds, the letter states, all raised less than $3 billion each, made fewer than 50 investments on average, and "generated a 34% gross IRR and a 23% net IRR and made distributions exceeding investor commitments.

"We believe funds in this size range afford us significant benefits, particularly with respect to the impact midsize investments can make," the letter reads.

In other words, Tiger Global's aggressive venture style from 2020 through 2022, when the firm led fundraising rounds seemingly every week and raised increasingly larger funds, has been replaced with one that is closer to what the firm built its business on. The manager previously wrote to investors earlier this year about how it reworked its risk systems following a 56% loss in its public-equity flagship hedge fund and compared the firm's bounce-back from that loss to golfer Rory McIlroy's Masters win.

The most recent private fund, PIP 16, has already reaped some of the benefits of the style focused on "high-conviction" bets. The fund has invested 70% of its assets across 25 companies, the letter states, with the 10 largest investments accounting for three-quarters of that total.

Among those big bets are some of the world's prominent artificial intelligence companies, including OpenAI and Waymo.

"We have remained incredibly disciplined and selective" when investing PIP 16, the firm wrote, and plan to continue that with PIP 17, which will hold its first close on March 18 next year. The new fund is the latest example of Tiger Global and its peers' renewed interest in private markets.

"This approach is opportunistic, guided by bottom-up, company-level underwriting, and informed by our deep research and cumulative insights," the letter states.

"To accomplish this, PIP 17 may have a pace of deployment spanning several years. With time on our side and an accelerated pace of innovation, we intend to remain patient — waiting for attractive opportunities to make high-conviction investments."

• Also, a Rivian spin-off, thinks the time is right for e-bikes.
• I rode its new $4,500 TM-B model around Manhattan. It could rip like a motorbike and give you a workout.
• The company's director of product believes in "bikes as transportation," not just toys. It shows.

Many Americans view cars as a necessity. But for me, and millions of other people, bikes are how we get where we need to go.

My steel Fuji road bike is like another limb. I use it to get to work, grab groceries, and pedal to see my friends. I can haul it onto the subway if I get tired, or if the weather takes a surprise turn for the worse. It's cheap to maintain, and I can use it in place of a gym membership.

In New York City, where I live, e-bikes — the road bike's zoomier cousin — are everywhere. They're not just popular with the 135,000 members of Citibike, our city's bike-share program; businesses have also embraced them. Many delivery workers use e-bikes to avoid our city's awful traffic snarls, and giants like Amazon use them to drop off packages and reduce emissions.

So when one of my colleagues told me they'd been getting emails from Also, a new e-bike company, I couldn't resist hopping in the saddle. I've been thinking about buying an e-bike, and the emails said Also's bike, the TM-B, had some unique features. The fact that it had been spun out of Rivian, a $21 billion electric vehicle company, intrigued me.

Rivian has retained a minority stake in Also — as in, "you can drive a car, and you can also ride a bike." Also uses the same battery cells as Rivian's autos, and takes inspiration from the carmaker's drive for simplicity. While many e-bikes are manufactured by traditional bike makers, Also sticks exclusively with electric-powered products. It has raised $305 million, according to Pitchbook.

Just before Thanksgiving, I met up with Saul Leiken, Also's director of product, to learn about the new $4,500 TM-B and take it for a spin around Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood.

I came away surprised at how flexible it was, and thinking it could be a good add-on — or primary method of transportation — for many households across the US.

Like an electric car, it's highly computerized

All e-bikes are complex pieces of machinery compared to normal bikes. In pedal-assist modes — when the motor only kicks in when you turn the pedals — the bike needs some way to process and interpret how hard you're pedaling to decide how much to help you. Those sensors need to be able to "talk" to the motor.

The TM-B, which stands for "Transcendant Mobility Bike," operates on an entirely different level from your typical e-bike. The pedals don't connect to a chain; they power a generator and provide input to a computer system that tells the motor how much juice to give the bike, a system the company calls "DreamRide." If there are updates, they'll be delivered over-the-air, like with your smartphone — or, increasingly, your car.

"Everything's software-defined," said Leiken, who also joined me on a test ride.

It struck me how digitized everyday transportation is becoming. Even gas-burning cars don't have direct, mechanical links between the steering wheel and the wheels or even the gas pedal and the engine. It's all digital, or "drive by wire." That makes the TM-B "pedal by wire."

Riding felt natural

I started out riding the TM-B in "All Purpose" mode. I relied on pedal assist, and I changed the levels by tapping a small screen at the top of the bike's head tube. It didn't feel like I was giving instructions to a computer; it felt like I was pedaling.

The part of Manhattan we were riding in was pretty flat, and it was a somewhat chilly day. Even if I'd been using a normal bike, I probably would not have broken a sweat. But the assist from the DreamRide would be welcome on a warmer day, and I could see it propelling me over the Manhattan Bridge if I wanted to get to Brooklyn without much effort.

Later on, we tried the TM-B's "Sport" mode, which approximates the experience of a standard, geared bicycle. There's no chain to clank around to let you know you've switched gears, but there is haptic feedback, just like on your smartphone, that courses through the pedals.

The bike is speedy, but compliant

State and local e-bike regulations are evolving, but in most states, there are three classes of e-bike, and the TM-B is what's called a "Class 3" e-bike, capable of hitting speeds up to 28 miles per hour. That's about as fast as a car will ever go in most places in New York City, except for a highway or a boulevard in one of the outer boroughs — in the middle of the night.

I inched toward that top speed at a couple of points during our 30-minute ride. Once, early on, I cranked the pedal-assist level to its max. I was only going in the mid-20s, but still beating traffic because bikes are simply more nimble than cars, until we hit a red light.

Later, when we were going west along a large block, I remembered to hit the throttle — a little orange button near my right thumb designed to take me up to 20 miles per hour.

It gave me a real rush; it felt almost like riding a motorbike, which I hadn't done in years. At the same time, I knew I had to be attentive, for my own safety and that of others.

The e-bike business is competitive

Nationwide, estimated e-bike sales are between 1 million and 2 million a year. It's hard to be precise, partly because the market has so many players, and partly because customs data is incomplete and lumps e-bikes into a larger category of imports, according to eCycle Electric, a consulting firm. What's clear is that it's growing: eCycle predicts that sales will grow 14% to 25% per year until 2030.

Some e-bike companies have run into trouble. Recently, Techcrunch reported that Rad Power Bikes, which says it has 680,000 customers, could run out of money by January 2026. VanMoof, a Dutch e-bike brand whose sleek rides stood apart from competitors with chunky batteries and conspicuous wiring, went bankrupt in 2023, and its new owners are trying to reestablish themselves.

When I asked Leiken about this, he said Also's timing was better — some e-bike companies built too much during the pandemic and were desperate to unload inventory afterward — and its business model is less reliant on partners. The bike's adaptability struck me as a potential selling point, too: It can ride on roads, rutted streets, and trails, and can be used for a workout or a quick errand.

Also is iterating and developing new products

Some things about the bike weren't final. The bell is digital, emitted by a speaker, and Leiken told me they were considering tweaking the tone and modifying it so that, if you hit it hard, it would sound like a car horn. It reminded me of how electric car manufacturers have created custom sounds to alert pedestrians at low speeds, as required by federal regulations.

Also has also rolled out a helmet, called the Alpha Wave. It has built-in front and rear lights meant to catch drivers' attention, speakers, and a noise-cancelling mic. While simple bike helmets provide some degree of protection in case of a collision, Also's helmet has a new technology called the Release Layer System that's meant to reduce the risk of traumatic brain injury.

The bike's flexibility means a lot of people could love it

There's a learning curve to bike ownership, and Also seems focused on flattening that curve.

While I didn't have the controls down pat in a roughly 30-minute ride, I felt completely safe the whole time, and I'm sure I would've gotten the hang of it in another hour. For a novice rider, it might take longer, and it would be smart to start in a park or a parking lot before mixing with traffic.

One of the more intriguing aspects of the bike was its swappable "top frames." With a couple of taps, you can replace the seat with one for a much larger or much smaller rider. You can also swap in a roomier bench seat, or a seat with a utility rack to schlep cargo or a kid. It slots in like a ski boot, with a mechanical lock and an electrical connection to power the back lights on the bike. I'm not aware of any e-bikes with a similar feature.

The point of the TM-B wasn't just to create a fun ride, Leiken said. It was to further the idea of "bikes as transportation" — as something that can actually replace a car for local trips. While $3,500 is nothing to sneeze at, Leiken said the company wanted to bring a "super-premium feature set and experience" to riders. He said bikes with similar features are usually more like $8,000. Besides, a used car will set you back $25,000 on average, and an average new car is $50,000.

I've long thought that e-bikes are generally good to have in society, and that they could replace a great deal of car trips. I've occasionally mulled buying one, but I feel like, as a fit person in my 30s, it might be overkill.

The TM-B didn't radically change my mind. I'm still undecided on buying an e-bike — I really love my Fuji road bike — but it could be good for someone who wants an e-bike that can do it all. It's a flexible workhorse, and given how pricey cars are getting, I think a lot of people could justify the price tag.

• Amazon and Walmart are racing to see who can get stuff to shoppers' doorsteps the fastest.
• Other companies have attempted to offer ultrafast delivery in the past, with limited success.
• Business Insider retail reporters Dominick Reuter and Alex Bitter debate the push for 30-minute delivery.

The ultrafast delivery wars are heating up.

Amazon said last week that it's testing a 30-minute delivery option in Seattle and Philadelphia, while Walmart said it managed to fulfill a Black Friday order in 10 minutes and is expanding its drone service to the Atlanta area.

The race is on to get online orders to shoppers' doorsteps as fast as possible, but we can't help but wonder as companies pour money into the infrastructure to support it: Is 30-minute delivery overhyped or under-appreciated?

Business Insider's senior retail reporters Alex Bitter, who primarily covers gig work apps and groceries, and Dominick Reuter, who mainly covers big box stores, sat down to hash it out.

Dominick: I'd say 30-minute delivery is the future. Are you saying it's an already-failed past?

Alex: The fundamentals are not there. Unless there's some massive other piece that we're not seeing, I don't get why Amazon is doing this.

Dominick: I definitely think it only works as part of a larger strategy where this service builds and strengthens customer relationships. It does not fly on its own.

Alex: A few years ago, we saw some startups try to do something very similar. You had companies like Gorillas — a German grocery delivery concept — pop up to deliver items in 15 minutes.

It was the same pitch: Is there an ingredient or two that you forgot for dinner tonight? No problem. We'll deliver it to your door, fast.

Now, though, many of those startups either no longer exist or have scaled back significantly. Getir, an ultrafast delivery company from Turkey, left the US. Gopuff is still around and raising money, though reportedly at a lower valuation than it did during the height of the pandemic.

Grocery is already one of the lowest-margin categories in retail. With delivery this fast, you're making it even less profitable.

To be fair, Amazon has a lot more money and experience than those startups did. But that does not change the fundamental truth that this is a challenging business model.

Dominick: Scale is everything here — the biggest players have a shot at making this successful. Even though it didn't work out for the startups, their very existence shows the consumer demand for fast service.

But it takes such an astonishing volume of inventory to support that speed of fulfillment. Companies like Amazon or Walmart already have that inventory, which eliminates one of the biggest hurdles to making 30-minute delivery work.

It's working in China, it's working in India, and it's gaining momentum in other global markets. The big challenge in the US is suburbia, but that's solvable.

Although I will say 15 minutes is wildly unrealistic.

Alex: When we reported on the ultrafast delivery startups a few years ago, an analyst told me that a 30-minute delivery promise is more reasonable than a 15-minute one.

But Amazon already has fairly fast delivery. Not 30 minutes, obviously, but you can get orders from Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods in as little as a few hours.

Also, this is yet another grocery offering for Amazon. It feels like it has too many now. Consider Whole Foods Daily Shop, a small-format grocery store that's designed for the same kind of fill-in trips that Amazon seems to be targeting with its 30-minute delivery option.

Dominick: When it comes to adding more stores and fulfillment centers, that's exactly what Amazon needs to be doing, and it needs to get people going to those brick-and-mortar stores and counting on Amazon-exclusive products.

Walmart and Target are proving that having lots of physical locations can get you way closer to making these ultrafast deliveries successful. Walmart has 4,600 stores, Target has 2,000 — that counts for a whole lot.

There are 25,000 Amazon drop boxes, but those obviously can't contain what's in a typical Supercenter. Amazon is working on it, though.

Alex: Maybe this is Amazon figuring out how it can compete with Walmart — and Albertsons and Kroger, for that matter — without having the same store footprint. This also puts it in more direct competition with Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Instacart.

Many US consumers live in smaller towns or suburbs. I don't think 30-minute delivery works well in those areas. People drive themselves to stores — something the retailers love because it's cheaper for them than making deliveries.

Amazon is not yet in a lot of those areas, like it is in the densest cities in America.

I could see this 30-minute idea working in Manhattan, though people in such densely populated urban areas already have lots of options for a quick grocery run (bodegas, anyone?).

Amazon has been trying for years to boost its market share in grocery. I'm not sure this is it.

Dominick: The last thing I'll say is I see ultrafast delivery as a key complement to the marketplace strategy that Amazon and Walmart are leaning on.

When customers need something now, that lets the company serve up an ad or some other exposure to the marketplace for a later purchase.

If Amazon and Walmart can get you to check their app first to get that missing ingredient, they could also sell you on some higher-margin product that might take a couple of days to arrive.

Alex: You need toothpaste, onions, and eggs right now, but that Christmas gift you've been meaning to buy can come this weekend.

Dominick: That, I think, is the reason it's going to be these two giants driving this shift: you need to be very big to offer 30-minute delivery in the first place, and then you need to be very big to see any benefit from it as well.

• The Society for Human Resource Management, known as SHRM, was hit with an $11.5 million discrimination verdict on Dec. 5.
• Its CEO, Johnny C. Taylor, told employees that the ruling was a "blip." SHRM said it would appeal.
• He also told them not to talk to the press, as criticism mounted on social media.

Johnny C. Taylor, CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management, was heading to the trade group's annual holiday party on December 5 when he received bad news.

In a video sent to SHRM staff, Taylor described learning that a Colorado jury had just hit the organization with an $11.5 million verdict in an employee discrimination and retaliation case.

"While as a lawyer, you all know, I respect the judicial process, we vehemently disagree with the decision," Taylor said in the video, which was seen by Business Insider. He added that the case lacked merit and would go down as "just a blip in the history of SHRM."

He also urged SHRM employees not to talk to the press about the case or any other company matters.

The case was filed by Rehab Mohamed, who worked at the organization as an instructional designer from 2016 to 2020.

SHRM's holiday party was held at a Washington, D.C., restaurant called The Hamilton, according to two people, one of whom was an attendee.

SHRM said in a LinkedIn post that it plans to file an appeal "to the highest courts in the land," a response that has since drawn more than 100 comments, many of them critical.

"An $11.5 million verdict doesn't happen in a vacuum; it reflects patterns, dismissed concerns, and a lack of internal accountability," one user wrote.

"We understand the heightened attention surrounding this case because SHRM exists to advance workplace excellence. A verdict like this can create questions, and we take those concerns seriously," SHRM spokesperson Eddie Burke wrote in a statement to Business Insider. "As an employer, we are appealing this verdict because our employees trust us to walk the walk. We maintain that the defendant in this case was not discriminated against."

'Staggering high figure'

Mohamed, whose lawyers have said she is Black and Egyptian, was awarded $1.5 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages by the jury.

That amount meets the threshold of what is commonly known in the legal and insurance industries as a "nuclear verdict."

The median federal race-discrimination verdict in a seven-year period ending in 2021 tracked by the legal data company Westlaw was $150,000. The largest such verdict in Westlaw's dataset was less than $7 million.

The size of the verdict "is a staggering figure" for an employee-discrimination case, said Allison Williard, an employment lawyer with Washienko Law Group in Boston. "Getting a punitive damages award in and of itself is difficult because it is such a high bar to prove that the conduct at issue is extreme and outrageous."

The extraordinary award likely speaks to the jurors' understanding of how SHRM brands itself as an expert in HR best practices, Williard added.

"It's not unreasonable to think that they want to punish SHRM," she said. "SHRM, of all organizations, really should have known better."

In September, SHRM asked the court to bar Mohamed from introducing evidence or argument that the organization is a specialist in HR best practices.

US District Judge Gordon P. Gallagher later denied SHRM's request, saying its "asserted expertise in human resources is integral to the circumstances of this case and cannot reasonably be excluded."

SHRM faces punitive damages

The jury deliberated for about four and a half hours before delivering its verdict, said Ariel DeFazio, one of Mohamed's lawyers.

Court records show that jurors sent one note, asking two questions: "Who receives punitive damages AND is there a formula or max value for punitive damages?"

The impact of the case on SHRM's reputation could have harmful consequences for its more than 575 local chapters around the world, said the president of a US chapter, who asked not to be named due to concerns about retaliation.

Describing the verdict as "mind-blowing," this person said they worry the chapter could lose both members and sponsors — sources of income that local affiliates need to survive.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Mark Rivers, the CEO of Canyon Ranch, based in Austin. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I've been the CEO of Canyon Ranch, a wellness hospitality company, since September 2023. Before that, I guided the company's new development opportunities starting in 2022.

Joining Canyon Ranch capped off over 25 years of experience in hospitality operations and property development at other resorts and clubs. I was the original master developer of the campus that's now the Driftwood Golf & Ranch Club in Austin, a development principal of Solage Hotels and Resorts in Napa Valley, and an executive at the Steve Wynn-founded, Las Vegas-based Mirage Resorts.

Canyon Ranch sits at the crossroads of hospitality and wellness. Wellness is certainly having its moment right now — and for a brand like ours, which was just named the best wellness resort in the Americas in 2025 by the Michelin Guide, this is a seminal moment to lead, redefine, and infuse our expertise and energy.

We have resorts in Tucson and Lenox, Massachusetts; the largest day spa in North America at The Venetian in Las Vegas; and a wellness club and spa in Fort Worth, Texas. We're also developing a new resort and residential community outside Austin.

Not much can derail my day — I'm an optimist and highly motivated. I brush off the difficult, the impossible, and the stressful, and move on.

Here's an idea of what a day in my life is like.

At 2:45 a.m. on Mondays, I start with a very early wake-up call

On a typical day, I wake up at 4 a.m., but on Mondays, I'm up at 2:45 a.m. to make the nearly three-hour drive from my home in Austin to our corporate office in Fort Worth. I live in Austin, and our company's biggest investment to date is the new resort we're building, so I like to be at or near it during most of the week.

The ride to work gives me time to listen to my favorite podcasts. My go-tos are usually Acquired or Founders, which have great insights on corporate brands and stories.

I like to do a 5 a.m. workout

It's important to get the body moving, first and foremost.

Whether at the office gym in Fort Worth or the fitness facilities at all our properties, I work out daily.

I always hydrate before caffeine in the morning, stretch, and get my brain going with The New York Times Spelling Bee before dawn.

After a protein shake, I love to be at my desk before 7 a.m.

I try to get some busy work and emails done early, before the day is overrun with meetings and the daily unexpected.

When in Tucson, I love 'cowboy coffee,' which starts at 7 a.m.

This is our fun morning ritual where we recreate a ranch tradition of brewed coffee served by our 'ranch hands' on staff — I can visit with coworkers and guests around a warm fire.

We meet in a eucalyptus courtyard in the center of the property. It's a warm, social morning gathering for guests and staff — a perfect way to start the day.

I start meetings around 7:30 a.m.

With properties and management sprinkled throughout the country, I'm frequently on the road visiting all of our locations. I prefer in-person human connection, but virtual meetings dominate.

On any given day, I probably have 10 to 12 meetings until 6 p.m., with a quick break for lunch.

12 p.m. is lunchtime

I grab a quick lunch from one of our dining outlets. These healthy, nutrient-packed meals help me with my mood and mental focus for the rest of the day.

I love breakfast at almost any time of the day — egg scrambles with all sorts of veggies, a fruit bowl, or an oat bar snack.

I also have an absolute sweet tooth — ice cream is a vice. I'm always grabbing coworkers and making a beeline for a quick ice cream.

For the rest of the afternoon, I'm at our resorts with coworkers and guests

I try to spend time in Fort Worth with our leadership team, and balance the week between our properties and our new resort project in Austin.

Spending time with our food-and-beverage, programming, spa, and health teams is especially rewarding — and it motivates me to maintain my diet and exercise regimen.

On many afternoons, you'll find me knee-deep in the development and construction of the newest Canyon Ranch in Austin

Over the last couple of years, I've spent a few days each week at the 600-acre ranch, located west of Austin, where our newest resort and residential community will open in fall 2026.

We'll have the largest spa in Texas — a Women's Wellness Collective dedicated to well-being, featuring 141 rooms, outdoor adventures, and three dining outlets.

I love the process of creating guest experiences, innovating and experimenting, and marshaling our teams to launch this new destination. It's something like a movie production with our cast, sets, script, imagination, and location.

For me, that means meetings with the architects and contractors, interior designers, and our teams on the campus.

To wrap up the day, at 6 p.m., I try to get an early dinner and one more physical activity

Tennis has become a passion of mine, and I can play year-round with friends and pros in Texas.

I'm not much of a TV or Netflix person, but I will follow some sporting events of my favorite teams: the Buffalo Bills, UConn Huskies, and Boise State Broncos. I share Buffalo Bills season tickets with my adult children.

My typical bedtime is 8:30 p.m.

Before settling in for sleep, I apply some sleep learnings and protocols from Longevity8, a program we recently launched that enables guests to enjoy a longer and healthier lifespan. I do a specific breathwork technique designed to trigger relaxation, which can be followed by journaling.

To keep my morning routine intact, I don't stay up late and barely drink alcohol. I'm early to bed — I'd rather have 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. to think, organize, and get ahead of the day than 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. for TV.